Owner of DC and Tempe Improv found dead

Mark Wilson Anderson, the DC and Tempe Improv owner who was reported missing by his wife May 12, was found dead Wednesday morning in a hotel room near Buckeye, Arizona. The Arizona Republic reports the cause of death is still unknown, according to Lt. Jared Griffith, a Buckeye police spokesman. He said an autopsy is planned for Friday.

Housekeepers at the hotel, a Days Inn near Interstate 10 and Miller Road, entered Anderson’s room and found him dead. It was unclear how long he’d been at the hotel, or when he died.

Wilson was last seen driving a 2011 silver Dodge Durango with the Arizona license plate AWE8050. Thomas Martin, a private investigator, reported that Mark’s credit card transactions have been closely monitored, but there had been no activity for the past two weeks. Martin also explained, “His medical condition has set in motion circumstances that he believes he is under some sort of threat. He may be suffering from some delusion.”

Anderson, who is survived by two children, was based out of Oklahoma City and Phoenix, but it was also believed that he visited California, Nevada, Utah and Texas within the past few weeks.

The news of the 60-year-old’s disappearance came only a few weeks after the announcement that the Tempe Improv would be closing on June 1 due to low ticket sales. Anderson has claimed that the club, which has been open for 23 years, has been losing business to Stand Up Live, a venue that opened just last year. In a press release, Anderson alleged that a former booker for the Tempe Improv had been sharing “proprietary business information” with the owner of Stand Up Live, helping to lure acts away from the Improv. Anderson also shared plans to renovate the Tempe and reopen it as a different, non-comedy venue in the future.

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Dana Sitar

Dana Sitar is a freelance comedy journalist trying to answer the question “What is it like to be a comedian?” She shares this quest and other tips from the writer's life at DanaSitar.com and on Twitter
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